Take It Way Back
by YoMamaTillaYMT
Summary: Finding himself all alone, betrayed, and overall tired of life, Harry Potter attempts to go back in time. Of course, not everything goes according to plan, and Harry find himself years before his planned date. Oh well, best to make the most of it. Harry/Hermione. Weasley/Dumbledoor! bashing.
1. Prolouge

The full moon shone bright as it surfed gracefully toward the unlit room. The gentle aurora cascaded to illuminate a simmering couldron, fueling the cooking potion's final breath before it was finally completed.

At the desk's edge, the resting head of Harry Potter rejuvenated, his droopy eyes scanning the room before finally resting at his piece of genius. The potion let out one final withering puff before settling still, having completed it's prime directive.

"Ooh, it's finally finished, has it?" Chuckled Harry, not expecting an answer. He knew he was alone. He had made sure of that.

Grabbing an empty potion flask from the shelf to his right, he carefully scooped the solution into the flask, before sealing it and silent-casting an _unbreakable_ charm on it. He then pocketed the potion in his bottomless bag. Confirming that he had everything, he _apparated_ to his next location.

Arriving at an inconspicuous room, if you don't count the several markings on the floor, Harry stepped into the large, circular drawing and retrieved the unnamed potion from his bag before chugging it.

Gagging at the sudden taste, he complained to the presence of none. "Fuck, that must be the most awful tasting potion ever, and that's coming from me!"

Before he could go off on a tirade about the taste, he snapped back to his original objective.Tapping the runic symbol at the center of the floor with his wand, he poured all his magic into powering the ritual.

"C'mon baby, you can't fail me now, not when we are so close"

By that point, the effects of the potion began to take effect. First, he became light-headed, although that might have been due to using up all of his magic.

After that, he really felt the potion, if his scream of pain was any indication, along with his drop to the floor.

"AHHHHHH! Bloody hell that hurts!"

His words soon became incoherent, as the pain only increased. The runic array began to glow, the pure magical power that Harry poured into the ritual caused the ground to shake.

"Hahahaha, here I come fuckers! You'll rue the day you decided to cross Harry James Potter! There is nothing you can do to save yourselves, not again! Mwuahahaha! This time, I won't let anything happen to you, Hermion—"

And with a final blinding flash, Harry Potter ceased to exist in this world.


	2. Not So Quiet Beginnings

Albus Dumbledore was many things: a very powerful wizard, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Leader of the Light, and most importantly, a manipulative arsehole. Yes, even he conceded to that claim.

Nevertheless, Albus knew that he must be manipulative; the fate of the world depended on him. As the Leader of the Light, Albus had certain quotas that he must meet, such as making sure that young Harry be 'well-cared' for in his relatives home. The future - the one that he envisioned with him at the top - depended on Harry to be a weak minded sheep.

"He must not be allowed to think for himself", muttered the wizened wizard. "Now, how to ensure this happens?"

Contemplating silently, a shrill cry from his pet chick- hrm hrm- powerful Phoenix companion, turned him away from his thoughts. Long red feathers, peaked with yellow-tints; claws as sharp as sabre tooths and a powerful beak, Fawkes deserved the title of a legenary creature.

"SCREEEEEEE" screeched the almighty chicken.

"Now now Fawkes, you must know that this must happen:for the sake of our world!" Retorted Albus, a little peeved that the bird challenged him.

"SCREEEEEE"

"Well yes, I do happen to know the consequences of my actions, they'll help the world survive!"

"SCREEEEEEEEEEE"

"What do you mean 'what do I mean'? I'll have you know that I am right, do you really think I would've survived this long without knowing that what I know is usually right?"

"SCREE SCREE"

"You will stop this instance you overgrown chicken! I will not tolerate any more insults to my manhood! It's a wonder that I've put up with you for so long. Must I _Imperio_ you again?"

Apparently, this was the wrong thing to say, as Fawkes let out an indignant squawk at the threat, but before he could flame away, he was locked in place by the angry headmaster.

"Yes, I think that is best for now. I wonder how long it will take before I have to do this again. The first time was difficult enough"

And as Albus Dumbledoor prepared to cast an _unforgivable_ on the Phoenix, the wheels of time and fate began to shift at the arrival of Fate's plaything.

A bright light. Pain. A vortex of colors. More pain. And the darkness.

 _Solitude. Emptyness. Nothingness. Chaos. Limbo._

And then there was light. Or at least, a stream of faint light coming thought the crack of the small wooden door; a door very familiar to Harry Potter, one that he spent 11 waking years looking at; a bearer of bad news when he was woken up by the light. It meant that he hadn't woken up before his Uncle had. It meant that breakfast hadn't been made. It meant that the door would be ripped open by the gorilla of a man. It meant that he would be shaken awake, and then beaten repeatedly for being a lazy, freakish, and ungrateful brat.

It would mean that for the next two weeks, Harry would receive no food of any kind from that house. It would mean that Harry had to keep one eye open for trouble during lunch at his school, lest Dudley manage to catch him off guard and steal his only meal. It would mean that he would have accidentally _apparated_ to the school's roof during one particular violent game of Harry Hunting. It would mean that Harry would get in even worse trouble.

It would mean all that and more had Harry not have the mind of a full grown, extremely powerful, magical adult.

As the footsteps thundered closer to the closet under the stairs, Harry contemplated at how he got there. Blinking sharply at the sudden sense of consciousness, Harry looked around for confirmation of his surrounding.

A full blown grin slowly creeper into his face, and it was all he could do to not scream out in utter joy.

"Pfff… hehe… hahahaHAHAHAH!"

Okay, maybe his Occlumeny barriers weren't fully up yet.

His impulsive laughter echoed across the quiet house, stopping the beefy legs of a startled uncle, before Vernon's head swelled an ugly red, and he quickened his thunder like steps to open and beat that brat. That FREAK.

"BOY! YOU HAVENT PREPARED BREAKFAST YET, AND YOU STILL DARE TO CAUSE SUCH A LOUD NOISE? ILL HAVE YOU CASTRATED YOU FREAK!" Bellowed Vernon, fully intending to do so. It would only make sure that the freakishness wouldn't spread.

Harry, in his sorry excuse for a bed, quieted at that warning, before slowly grinning again. It was time to play with his "family". It was time for payback.

Calling forth his magic, he snuffed out all the lights in the neighborhood, just for the extra spook effect. This had to be executed perfectly.

Vernon squeaked at the abrupt darkness, before calming down and heating back up again.

"Boy! That better not have been you! You will undue all this freakishness at once!" Commanded Vernon to his unseen, and unwanted, nephew.

A squeaking sound to his right had Vernon catching whiplash, making his fat body crash to the ground with a resigning thud.

"Hehehe… heeeeheeee… Tehehehe"

Blanching at the child's laugh, Vernon scampered back until he felt the cold warmth of a wall behind him.

"Wha- what sort of freakishness is this? This can't possibly be the freak; no, he doesn't even know about magic and his kind" prayed Vernon, wishing that it was true.

Harry proved it wasn't.

"Aww, don't you love me uncy–poo? Don't you wanna…"

"PLAY"

As the hot breath hit Vernon's ear, he screeched the most manliest screach a woman could manage. Freezing on the spot, all he could do was turn his head, until his eyes widened in fear at the scathing luminescent green eyes of the five year old Harry.

A faint, no, an overwhelming smell emerged from the large oaf, staining Vernon's pants. Pathetic.

"N–now lo–lo–look here b-boy," was all Vernon managed before…

"Boo".

The house exploded in a magical show of pure, unadultered, power; so much so that it was felt all across the globe, awakening mythical beasts of legend from their deep slumber, and making certain old, manipulative, arseholes miss their casting of an unforgivable.

If anyone were to ask, that certain action could be forgiven.

" _Imperio_ "

The streak of light would have changed the course of history in a different world, one where Harry Potter hadn't come back in time to set things right.

As the magical energy passed by Hogwarts, the sheer force caused Albus to aim slighty to the left, causing the _Imperio_ to miss by meer inches; Albus himself looking shook at the power he had just felt. This was all the time it took for Fawkes to flame away, the magical energy negating the body bind the headmaster had the bird trapped in.

Disbelief would be a huge understatement on Dumbledoor's part. No, fury would be a better word to describe his current mood. Casting as many curses around the room as he could, the headmaster wouldn't know for quite some time that one of those banishing hexes had hit a spinning, silver plate, it's purpose known only to that very same headmaster.

Nothing could satisfy the powerful wizard's frustration, and it would be a while before he would even think to investigate the cause of the surge, as the loss of a huge symbol for the light such as Fawkes would be a major blow to his image.

Yes, it would be quire some time for the headmaster to do anything. Quite some time indeed.

"Ouch. Okay, maybe I should've thought more about that. Oh well." Groaned Harry, as he lay amongst the rubble of the house he himself had just blown up. As his blurred vision adjusted, he bagan to notice the wailing sirens and red and blue light for what they were. Muggle police. Shite.

Too tired, physically, magically, and mentally to do anything, he decided that he would allow them to give him help, he wasn't the best healer after all. The police had finally found him, and had begun to carry him to the paramedics.

'Well, let's see where this takes us. Should be fun'

And with that final thought, Harry went unconscious for the second time that day.

"Yes, he was found amidst the rub-"

 _Pain. Then nothing._

"Physically, he is fine, but his body is very exhausted. It must be a very troubling ordeal for a five year ol-"

 _More pain. More chaos_.

"Is this Dr. Gra-…?"

 _Thoughts, consciousness. Maybe for just a little? No, now._

"Are you sure sweety? He might want to be alone for a while. He just lost his family".

 _Family? No. Revenge? Yes. He did it. 'I did it'. Drifting again. Gone._

"His name is Harry James Potter. If you sign here, he will officially become Harry James Gra-"

 _Me. That is me. I am him. Him is I. But if I am me, then who is I? Who cares? I care? 'No, only she matters. I do not'. Only her. Who, her? Yes, the one in your dreams. Who is her? You know, for I am you and you is I. She is… Hermione. Yes._

"Her...my..". _Dead. Red hair. Red hair. RED HAIR. Betrayed. HATRED. ANGER. DEATH. DEATH. **DEATH**._

 _No. Dead? Yes, not yet. Not dead? Yes. Alive. Alive. Alive._

 _Hermione is **alive**._

Opening his bleary eyes, the bright light above his head only fueled his splitting migraine. Wincing at the pain, Harry slowly opened his eyed again, so to not become blinded even more than he already was.

Looking around the room, he instantly recognized it for what it was. A hospital room. But why was he here?

'Oh right, my usual stupid self buggered things up. I really gotta power up my Occlumency shields, I let my emotions take control of me; fortunately, it looks like I received no damage, except for this fucking MIGRAINE. Go away stupid.'

The sound of the door opening interrupted Harry of his inner diaolouge, and as the man in a white doctor's coat approached Harry, he jumped in surprise at seeing Harry fully awake, watching him like a hawk.

"Oh, sorry there Mr. Potter, you surprised me a little bit. Anyway, welcome back Mr. Potter. you've been asleep for about two weeks. You sure must have been sleepy, huh?"

The cheeky grin of the Doctor helped aliviate the mood as Harry himself chuckled a bit.

"Hi, Doctor…"

"Jennings"

"Doctor Jennings. Thanks you for taking care of me, I guess my family didnt make it?"

Frowning a bit at his lack of concern, Dr. Jennings observed the child. Scruffy black hair and green eyes, the boys lack of weight stirred certain suspicions within the Doctor, as he was trained to notice the signs of malnourishment and abuse. If his suspicions were true-which he hoped dearly were not- then the boy would have no reason to be saddened at the news of their death.

"Yes, sadly Mr and Mrs. Dursley, along with Dudley Durlsey, did not make it out alive the explosion. This brings me to another topic, which is the matter of your new living arrangement. While you were out, a kind family and peer of mine was kind enough to adopt you. This family has always wanted a second child, but unfortunetly, the mother was unable to carry another baby. Thus, they were happy to take you in when they heard of your case. I hope that you don't object tho this?"

Wow. That was a lot to take in. So some family out there adopted him then? Curious. Very curious. And…

"Who is this family?" Questioned the young wizard.

"Ahh, so you are interested, well you see, Emma and Dan Granger would be happy to take you in, along with their 6 year old daughter, Hermione. I assure you they are a very nice family, and their daughter would just be delighted to take you in, I assure you of that."

The startled face of Harry James Granger was quickly noticed, along with his rapidly grinning face.

Dr. Jennings chuckled, "So, you excited?"

Harry couldn't help but grin even brighter.

"Oh yeah absolutely!"


	3. Meeting The Grangers

Author's Notes:

Hey guys, welcome to another chapter of my first ever story! I want to thank all of you who took the time to follow and favorite, especially those who left a review. Some people have concerns about the pairing, which is, by the way, a Harry/Hermione story.

On the issue of the whole sibling thing with the same last name, well that certainty adds some drama and problems down the line, doesn't it ;)

Now, on with the show!

It always amazed Harry how he could find himself in these predicaments. Not only did he manage to blow himself up- along with the rest of his house and relatives -but he was further able to anoint himself with the Grangers, the very same family that he came back for. Well, it was more for their daughter, but that's besides the point.

What was important, however, was his new name. Harry Granger.

"Hmm, doesn't really roll off the tongue", muttered Harry, tasting the name he would now adopt.

"Did you say something?" That was Dr. Gran- err, Dan Granger, husband to Emma Granger and father to Hermione. May God bless his soul.

"No, I was just thinking about what happened today. I'm still pretty disoriented. And tired. Super tired."

Dan eyed him speculatively, confused and impressed from the five year old's diction. While Harry was aware that he was now in his five year old body, weak and frail and small, he neglected to do something about his 25 year old mind. This drew Dan's curiosity, for no child should have that level of intelligence. Dan Granger worked a lot with kids, his job as a pediatrician demanded that, and not once in his work life had he seen such a perceptive child. From what he observed, Harry was an intelligent and mindful kid, and although he was very timid, he could explicate that to Dr. Jennings suspicions; Harry may have been neglected and- heaven forbid -abused by his now deceased family.

Not only that, but Harry seemed to be extremely excited to meet his family. On his way to the car from the hospital, Harry kept glancing around, as if looking for something, or someone. When Dan had asked him about it, Harry responded with " I'm just looking for your family Dr. Granger, i'm very eager to see them aga-cough cough- to meet them". This had been dandy and all, but that excitement only appeared to have increased during the short trip to Dan's home.

All this led Dan to believe that Harry was a studious young lad, who had the unfortunate luck to have a neglectful-if not abusive- family, and was now happy and excited to have a new one.

"Don't worry Harry, the house is just a few minutes away. You can go straight to sleep as i'm sure that Emma and Hermione are resting. It is pretty late after all. You can go ahead and sleep for now, i'll wake you up" Suggested Dan, before focusing back on the road ahead.

Nodding his head, Harry closed his eyes and was back to sleep. While he may have not been in a bad condition anymore, his reserves hadn't recovered by much, thus fatigue plagued his young body. It wouldn't be much more.

Hermione.

The birds chirped, the bright sun peeked over the horizon, casting an annoying light to all those unfortunate to have their blinds open, and one Hermione Jean Granger woke up from her restful slumber.

Getting up from her bed. Hermione went about her morning rituals. First, she made her bed, shaping it to the clean slate it was before the night. She them proceeded to pick a set of clothes and headed to the shower. After a satisfying amount of time, she dried up before putting on her clothes. Turning toward the sink, she brushed her teeth and tried to control her hair. Tried. No matter how many times she had done this, no matter how much she tugged and heaved, her hair just wouldn't straighten. It would just curl back up into her long bushy bush of a hair. Crying out in frustration, she slammed the brush and left the bathroom.

An amazing aroma infiltrated her nose before Hermione grinned widely and let out a cry of joy.

'Yes! They made me my favorite breakfast!' Running down the stairs, Hermione missed the slight opening of the guest bedroom, before it quietly closed again.

'Woooooooooooo!'. The internal scream belonged to Harry, face in the pillow so as to not let his whoop of joy be heard.

'That was her! Hermione, she's actually here, alive, not dead, but alive!'

Grinning even broader, Harry focused on his occlumency shields to calm down. While he knew that she was going to be here, it was a different thing seeing her. The last time he had a good look at her was seven years ago, the day that she had died. Harry hadn't been able to bear the pain of seeing her lifeless body, face expressing nothing but anguish, and was therefore panicking slightly at seeing her much younger self.

"Okay Harry, one breath at a time, it wouldn't do to have her weirded out by me. No, I gotta play it cool."

Chanting the same mantra in his head, Harry gently carried himself toward the door, before proceeding downstairs where the rest of the family were situated.

Eating eagerly, Hermione missed the shared glance of her parents before they settled back on her. Dan and Emma were uncertain on how they would approach Hermione about the fact that she had a new brother. Deciding that if she was happy with her favorite breakfast, she wouldn't be as shocked or upset. Emma noticed the look Dan was giving her. Oh, so he wanted her to do the talking now, did he? Shooting her husband a scathing look, she pointed her eyes toward the couch, her message clear in intent. Alarmed, Dan sighed dramatically, before clearing his throat and gaining Hermione's attention.

"Hey princess…"

"Yes daddy?"

Shooting his wife another pleading look, Dan began, "Well, you see, your mother and I have a surprise for you".

"Ooh, what is it? Wait no, let me guess! Is it a pony? No, not that, is it a castle? Wait no. It must he a book! Please tell me it's a book!" Hermione was clearly excited, as she only got present during her birthdays and Christmas. A sudden present for no reason was readily accepted, she certainly wasn't going to complain. Oh, she had the best parents in the world!

"Yes, well, you see, um… It's none of those things. It's a… a… new bro-"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"

Startled at the sudden noise, the Grangers swung their heads at the retreating figure of Harry running back up the stairs, who had just caught a glimpse of Hermione.

"…brother." Finished Dan, lamely.

"I HAVE A WHAT?"

It was much later when Harry decided that he was calm enough to go back downstairs again. The sheer embarrassment at resembling Ginny when she first saw Harry had him haunted, but he would not allow himself to do that again.

He hoped.

At the base of the stairs, he found the whole family sitting at the living room, obviously discussing with Hermione about their new tenant.

"H-hello". His meek greeting was just above a whisper, but Hermione was able to hear it just as well. Turning to her new… brother, she took pause. Looking closer, she noticed that he looked unsure, almost as if he was trying to crawl within himself. It reminded her of how she looked when she was in class, in front of all those kids that could hurt her with their words. That look made her retrace her approach to the boy.

Smiling kindly, she replied, "Hi, you're Harry right? Nice to meet you".

That seemed to break the ice, as Harry grinned broadly before stepping out to her; grabbing her hand in a strong and enthusiastic shake. "It's so good to see you Hermione, we'll be the best of friends, you'll see! We're gonna have so much fun, we'll always be together and watch each other's backs! Ain't nobody gonna mess with us!"

Dan and Emma watched with mirth as Hermione and Harry interacted with each other. It was palpable that Harry hadn't had many friends, and the loss of his family probably made him keen to connect with others. As Hermione herself had almost no friends due to her intelligence and desire for ethos, she was ostracized by her peers in school. The thought that their daughter would finally finally have someone to relate with had the Granger parents swelling with happiness.

Hermione proceeded to grab and drag Harry to her room to play. Well, reading wouldn't count to most children as playing and having fun, but to Harry, a long as he was with her, it didn't matter. Harry thought about what Hermione from the future had told her about her childhood, of her being bullied and becoming a teacher's pet to seek some form of approval from those around her. Grimacing at what the future would hold for Hermione, Harry made a vow. He would protect Hermione. He would show her magic; train her in the ways that most pureblood children are when they are young. He would make sure that she knew how to protect herself for when he wasn't there. Occlumency training was at the forefront of his thoughts, as they wouldn't be able to much without a wand anyway.

Most importantly, he would care for her, be her friend so that she does not harbor an unhealthy obsession with always pleasing the adults and authority. He would make sure that she wouldn't know what bullying really is. She will have many friends that will care and support her. Hermione will be loved.

Hermione will live.


	4. As The Years Flew By

The next few years were some of Harry's brightest. Without having the ever-present animosity from the Dursleys, Harry was finally able to experience what a real childhood was like. From being woken up by Dan and Emma, to having a gracious breakfast already waiting for him; from being told to go to bed to receiving a good night kiss, it was all Harry could ask for in a family.

While his relationship to the Granger parents deepened, so did his relationship with Hermione.

He took his vow to give her a happy childhood seriously. From his waking moments, Harry would stick to Hermione like glue, joined at the hip. They did everything together, studying and playing. When one would get in trouble, so would the other; when one would get praised, so would the other. Hermione was as happiest as she could be. She finally had someone she could enjoy herself with, and unlike most other children, she could enjoy doing what she loved with Harry: read.

While Harry curved Hermione's desire to please authority, he also supported Hermione's endeavors into learning. Harry loved Hermione for who she was, an extremely intelligent, bookish person, and wouldn't trade her for anything else.

For these reasons and others, Hermione and Harry became fast friends, and soon enough, the best of friends.

As Dan enrolled Harry in the same school as Hermione, her experience at school was also shaped. No more was she belittled and bullied by those who were threatened by Hermione's intelligence, instead they would feel the wrath of Harry's over protectiveness.

The first case of this happening was two weeks into school.

During class, Hermione was trying to help correct a boy who was having trouble in math. Thinking that she was belittling him by acting superior, he quickly angered. Shoving her help away, he called her a know-it-all, something that for a 6 year old was very insulting. She recoiled in shock, and buried her face into her hands so no one would see her tears.

Well, Harry sure saw this. Oh boy did he see this.

As the class was let out, Harry confronted the boy in the hall.

"Hey dumb fuck, you better apologize to Hermione before I make you".

Hermione, who was right behind him when he said this, blanched at his words before she tried to stop him and direct him away. She was used to their name calling.

The boy turned around, looking confused at Harry's words, but knew that it was an insult. He had heard that it plenty of times from his older brother.

"Why should I say sorry? She was just being a stupid know-it-all. She should say sorry for being such a bookworm!" Was his hypocritical reply. Harry only laughed at the reply, before looking at Hermione who was tugging at his shirt, again, trying to defuse the situation.

"Let's just go Harry, you don't have to get mad. He just called me name, I'm used to it."

Harry bristled at her words, understanding her implied words.

"Well, you shouldn't be used to these words 'Mione. This guy is bullying you, you have to stand up for yourself or else they'll think that they can do anything to you. Trust me, it will only get worse." Saying that, Harry turned back to the boy and stared him dead in the eyes.

Utilizing a legilimency probe, Harry learned that the boy was only being mean to Hermione because he was jealous of her. Going in deeper, Harry used some light usage of Imperio to make the boy stop calling her names. A thought suddenly crossed his mind, before Harry grinned evilly. He also made it so that when he planned to be mean to anyone, he would get constipation.

Okay, maybe that was a little extreme, but he deserved it! He was hurting Hermione.

Or maybe Harry was being just a tad not childish.

Nah.

Harry left the boy's mind, learning that his name was Peter in doing so, and made a gesture toward Hermione, his meaning clear. Peter cowered a little bit, before turning to Hermione and apologizing.

Hermione beamed at Peter, accepting the apology, before clocking Harry at the back of his head for his usa of improper language. Oh well, all in a day's work.

That confrontation did leave a deep impression in Hermione's mind, as that day brought them closer together. Not only that, but rumors spread like wildfire, and soon enough everybody was talking about Hermione's over protective brother.

Brother.

Even today, 5 years after Harry was adopted, he hated when anyone called Harry and Hermione siblings. Although it was technically correct, it made Harry extremely uncomfortable as it collided negatively with what Harry was hoping for.

You see, if it wasn't obvious enough already, Harry liked Hermione. No, not liked. Loved. Harry loved Hermione. He loved her so much that he did the impossible by traveling back in time by years, not hours like Time-Turners did.

The fact that others associated Harry and Hermione to brother and sister was detrimental to the bond that Harry wanted between him and Hermione.

As such, for the next 5 years, he did everything in his power to ensure that nobody, especially Hermione, saw them as siblings. It was an obsession. People learned soon enough that calling them brother and sister was one of Harry's major triggers. Harry would get very mad, and confidently state that he was adopted and Hermione and him were best friends.

Dan and Emma found this weird, but accepted it as something a child who had lost his entire family did.

The fact that when they asked Harry why he didn't want to be considered a brother to Hermione and he blushed brightly before giggling went neglected. Statutorily neglected.

Still, Emma found this sweet and smiled at him while Dan would narrow his eyes and mutter something about "boys trying to take away my princess".

While most found his anger strange, to Hermione, it didn't matter one bit. In fact, she preferred to have a best friend over a brother, as a brother would be "very annoying". So, when someone would ask her about her brother, she would say she didn't have one, but she did have her best friend Harry.

This was all in Harry's favor, as Hermione's parents slowly stopped trying to view Harry as their son and Hermione's brother, but rather as a sweet and intelligent child that was best friends with their daughter and just happened to stay there.

Of course, we can't talk about the going-ons during the next few years without talking about the biggest change in Hermione's childhood.

The knowledge of magic.

It was Hermione's eighth birthday when Harry decided it was the opportune time to tell her. To introduce her to magic.

As Harry thought back to that fateful day, he winced at how he went about it, admitting to himself that he could have done it better.

You see, Harry went in with his usual Gryffindor-ish self. What I mean by that is that he knocked on Hermione's door, and as he went in, he cast a wandless locking charm on the door and a silencing charm on the room, before turning to the curious Hermione.

And casted a simple _Wingardium Leviosa_

On Hermione..

No one could blame Hermione for her sudden scream, not even Harry who considered himself lucky that he had put out those charms. Gently lowering a still screaming Hermione to the bed, he canceled the charm. It did nothing to stop her screaming.

Walking up to her, he hugged her to calm her down. It worked, as she stopped screaming and reciprocated the hug more fiercely, still scared of finding herself floating again. Once Harry deemed Hermione calm again-or at least not scared shitless- he backed up but held his hands on her shoulders.

Grinning, Harry continued his introduction with a, " Hey, did you know you can do magic?".

Hermione only looked at him for a second, before fainting, her back landing softly on the bed.

Harry grimaced. This could take a while.

— — —

Over the next few hours, Harry explained to Hermione all about the Wizarding World, of magic in ways that she could never believe existed, of mythical and wonderful creatures, of customs and traditions, of a wonderful school where other magical kids went for seven years to learn magic when they turned 11. All of this and more.

Hermione took like fish to water, absorbing knowledge at an incredible rate, and sponging up more. This led to Harry teaching Hermione Occlumency, and accompanying that, Legilimency. Occlumency was easy enough to practice. All Hermione needed to due was clear her mind and envision a place where she could store and protect all of her knowledge and thoughts. Hermione being Hermione, turned her mind into an enormous library. Normally, teaching a child would be impossible to their inability to focus and become tranquil, something that Hermione was able to do due to her maturity. By now, Hermione would successfully be able to detect any probe on her mind, and might be able to hold off an attack from the likes of a master like Snape for long enough to stop eye contact. She still wasn't at Dumbledore and Voldemort level, but she would be. Harry would make are of that.

Legilimency was harder to teach than Occlumency. only because of Hermione's moral compass. She didn't find it right to peek into anyone's mind, as that was an extreme invasion of privacy. Harry was able to convince her though. Just barely. His justification was that Hermione would be able to know the results of her test much earlier. Once he explained it like that. Hermione accepted it, although she was very reluctant to do so. 'Oh Hermione, never change'. Her progress with legilimency wasn't nearly as far as it was with Occlumency, but she knew enough to get surface thoughts and to enter the most rudimentary protected minds. It was the most he would get from her.

As Hermione never had the most powerful magical core, he didn't expect her to be able to do much wand less magic. On that front, she surprised him. Not only was she able to cast a wandless and silent stupefy, she was also able to cast a wandless _accio_ charm. The latter would be the most useful, as she could use it to retrieve her wand if it was taken from her. The stupefy would be a nasty surprise, but wouldn't work past the first time, as she wouldn't have the element of surprise anymore.

She could of course, cast simple charms such as Lumos and a locking charm, but most wizards and witches could do that if they applied themselves.

As Hermione's 11 birthday rolled in, Harry was sure she was the most powerful and experienced first year in, perhaps forever. Well, second most powerful, but Harry didn't count. Harry is cheating. For all of Hermione's intelligence. she never once questioned how Harry knew what he did. Harry assumed that she would ask later, and if she was ready, he would tell her the truth.

For now though, Harry, Dan and Emma were preparing to surprise Hermione with a wake-up Granger family, minus Hermione of course, met right outside her bedroom door. Grinning at each other, Harry prod the door open, casting a wandless silencing charm while Dan and Emma weren't looking; tipped toed to her bed and counted to three with his fingers,

Grinning sharply, Harry begun with a very loud, 'SURPRISE!" before jumping onto her bed. Hermione woke with a start, sharply sitting upright, an action that caused her and Harry major pain as she hit her forehead with his.

Wincing and rubbing her head, Hermione couldn't help but grin in happiness as she enveloped a still whining Harry with a crushing hug, stopping his complaints as he gently, but just as fiercely, hugged her back. After a long pause, she disentangled herself from Harry-making him pout- and went on to hug each of her parents.

The rest of the morning went on in the same fashion; the whole family having fun as they goofed around. Soon the time came for presents. And after a hearty breakfast, they situated themselves around the living room. Harry sat closely next to Hermione in a loveseat, while Dan and Emma sat across from them in a longer couch. Hermione's first presents were from both Dan and Emma. As Hermione tore into the box with clear enthusiasm, Harry kept an eye on the windows for a certain owl. It was time for _that_ after all. Hearing a gasp next to him, he looked over to Hermione as she revealed a thick book from the mangled box. She clearly enjoyed the present, as her eyes and face lit up in obvious wonder. Harry smiled again; that look is what he worked hard for; why he kept on living. Hugging her parents again, Hermione sat back down, clutching the book to her chest before placing it at the small table on her right.

Hermione looked over expectantly at Harry, who only smirked mischievously, before retrieving his birthday present. It was a small black leather box, it's professionalism shown in the craftsmanship. Gently opening the box, Hermione let out a gasp at what she found inside.

A beautiful and ornate necklace, with a sapphire stone in the middle, rested within. As Hermione reached in with a shaking hand, Harry explained what it was.

"I looked up birthstones and found that yours was sapphire, so I ordered a necklace from this jewelry place that is quite well known and-oof"

Harry was cut off by Hermione who leapt out at him and hugged him for all that he was worth. Harry grinned slightly, returning the hug. After another long pause, Hermione backed away, and with a blazing face, leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on Harry's cheek, before pulling away and dragging her mom to put on the necklace. Harry was left there, stumped, with a stupefied face and a cheeky grin. Dan was also surprised, before his "dad mode" activated to accost Harry for getting kissed by his daughter.

"Now listen here young man. I don't care who you are, but you cannot simply…"

His response was ignored by Harry as he was still in dream land. Giggling slightly, the sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs woke him up, and Hermione once again came running into his arms, giving him another hug.

"Ohthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! This is the best, most amazing present ever!" Squealed Hermione. Harry laughed a bit at her rapid fire words, before responding, "You're welcome Hermione. I should only give the most beautiful girl in the world the most beautiful necklace ever right?" His smooth reply only caused Hermione to blush even deeper, who began to look like a raw tomato.

Hermione opened her mouth to reply before a loud 'hoot' filled their ears. As one, the Grangers looked over to the open window, only to be shocked at finding a large _owl_ resting on the ledge, a large, bound paper tied to it's stretched out leg.

While the Grangers were too busy being bewildered by the nocturnal bird, Harry smiled lightly.

' _The time has begun'_.


End file.
